The Mthwakazi Republic Party (MRP) has called on Zimbabwe, the Southern African Development Community (Sadc), the African Union, and the international community to recognise the Mthwakazi self-determination issue as a lawful political question rather than a security threat.
MRP president Mqondisi Moyo said recent international developments in Bougainville and New Caledonia demonstrate that questions of political consent and self-determination cannot simply be dismissed by inherited colonial borders.
Moyo referenced recent developments in Bougainville, an autonomous region of Papua New Guinea, where preparations for possible independence continue following a 2019 referendum in which 97,7% of voters reportedly supported independence.
He also cited ongoing constitutional and political negotiations in New Caledonia as evidence that political status arrangements can be negotiated through lawful and democratic processes.
“Bougainville proves that when a people persistently asserts its political will, post-colonial borders do not end the inquiry,” Moyo said.
“New Caledonia proves that self-determination does not have to be reduced to a slogan. Between total independence and total domination are autonomy, local citizenship, constitutional recognition, negotiated transfer of powers, and lawful processes for measuring consent.”
Moyo said his party submitted a petition to Sadc in September 2023 advocating for self-determination for Matabeleland and parts of the Midlands, carrying 25 880 signatures.
He said the petition was registered by the Sadc Secretariat under reference number 3951863.
- MRP petitions prison services over jailed members
- Fear grips Mat'land political activists
- Peers fundraise for jailed MRP activists
- Gukurahundi roadmap faces resistance
Keep Reading
The MRP leader accused Zimbabwean authorities of responding with hostility to the party’s campaign, alleging that Zanu PF political commissar Munyaradzi Machacha described the party’s programme as a declaration of war and threatened repression against its members.
“A people that petitions Sadc is not making war,” Moyo said. “A people that asks for consent to be measured is not threatening the state.”
Moyo argued that Mthwakazi’s claim is rooted in historical grievances, including colonial conquest, alleged political marginalisation, and the legacy of the Gukurahundi massacres of the 1980s.
The party called for formal engagement by Sadc on the petition, an end to threats against peaceful advocacy, and the establishment of dialogue mechanisms capable of discussing options ranging from enhanced autonomy to possible independence.
The MRP said it remains committed to pursuing its agenda through peaceful, democratic, and lawful means.
The MRP was founded in Bulawayo in January 2014 and advocates for what it describes as the political, cultural, and economic self-determination of Mthwakazi.
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has since threatened the MRP, saying those who advocate for the secession of the country are shortening their lives.
